Italian man sentenced to 24 years in prison for infecting over 30 women with HIV

An Italian man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after being found to have infected more than 30 women with the HIV virus.

Valentino Talluto would use social media under the alias "Hearty Style" to meet women whom he would later sleep with, The Guardian reports.

Women at the trial described him as wining and dining them, and claiming to fall in love before convincing them to have unprotected sex.

When the women asked him to wear a condom he would say that he was allergic or had recently been tested for HIV.

Between discovering he was infected with the virus and the trial, Talluto slept with 53 women. The youngest was only 14 and the oldest was 40.

Thirty-two women became infected with the virus, as well as four partners of the women and one eight-month-old baby.

When women asked Talluto about their infection, he would say it was not his fault.

Prosecution in the trial argued Talluto was out irresponsible in his management of the virus.

"Talluto has never cooperated," said prosecutor Elena Neri. "He has made false statements. He has always denied any responsibility, even in the face of the evidence. His actions were intended to sow death."

The defence said Talluto was eager for affection after his mother died when he was only four years old and he never met his father. His lawyer, Maurizio Barca, said Talluto only had sex without protection a few times after being "caught in the heat of the action".

When the sentence was announced, Talluto's victims reportedly wept and hugged each other in the court.